Some years back I decided to have a maximum of 4 players in my group, although this sometimes depends on what RPG we are playing.
With 4 gamers + 1 DM (me) there is less distraction from players who aren't "on stage" and I have more opportunites to involve the players and their characters' stories within the campaign. Also, with less players there it is more likely to agree on a date for the next gaming session.

There have been occasions when I DMed 5 players - but this ususally happens only on Cons or the like.

I am curious to know how many people are in everybody's gaming group. And what size of a group do you prefer.I play with 4 guys total, 3 PC's and 1 DM. It's a small group, but we are all really good friends and enjoy a smaller group.

I dont know if this counts, but we have national club with Judges Guild and Eostros Games called Game base 7 and have a group of about 200 members, we dont all play together, but we do at Gen Con.

Otherwise, my local group is about 25 members, and yes, sometimes it gets crowded, up to 15 at the table, the others play occasionally or in games on other nights. Our normal is about 8 players.

We have 8 core members of the group, including the DM (which rotates), plus one remote, who is still an honorary member even if he doesn't game with us regularly. We're also considering bringing another 2 in.

My group has 4 players (5 when my wife can make it...she is getting her MBA, so she can't always make it on a weekly basis) and 1 GM. I had been GMing every week for about 14 years straight...and then suffered from burnout. Now, one of the players took over as the GM, and has been GMing for the past 2 or 3 years.

I've always found 5 players to be the right amount. 6 players is still reasonable, but anything beyond that is too much. The role of the GM is to provide a story to involve and challenge the players. The more players that you have in the group, the more difficult it is for the GM to really cater to each PC. On the flipside, fewer players makes it less interesting for the GM. Good groups can really help drive the plot and create new adventures...and a larger number of players to interact with always helps.

One other observation - rules lawyers are fine, as are solid and experienced players...but what really livens up a group are stupid/silly players. It may sound counterproductive, but it's really not. Stupid players are more liable to fall into traps, get themselves (and the group) into trouble, and do unpredictable things. All of these make for terrific stories and memories. Some of my fondest campaign stories were brought about by dumb actions. So...recruit a foolish player. You won't be disappointed.

One other observation - rules lawyers are fine, as are solid and experienced players...but what really livens up a group are stupid/silly players. It may sound counterproductive, but it's really not. Stupid players are more liable to fall into traps, get themselves (and the group) into trouble, and do unpredictable things. All of these make for terrific stories and memories. Some of my fondest campaign stories were brought about by dumb actions. So...recruit a foolish player. You won't be disappointed.

One other observation - rules lawyers are fine, as are solid and experienced players...but what really livens up a group are stupid/silly players. It may sound counterproductive, but it's really not. Stupid players are more liable to fall into traps, get themselves (and the group) into trouble, and do unpredictable things. All of these make for terrific stories and memories. Some of my fondest campaign stories were brought about by dumb actions. So...recruit a foolish player. You won't be disappointed.

I have to disagree with premise, but agree with the outcome. I find foolish/silly players detract from the game play, memorable situations or not.

However, I love games that have Hindrances/Disadvantages or similar mechanics (and often import them into games that don't), specifically because of the situations that arise when players play their character's Hindrances faithfully. Have a Curious character? Make sure to put a lever there. Have a character with a Phobia? Make sure they run into the object their phobia periodically. Like you said, some of our most memorable stories come from good players playing up their character's Hindrances, both comedic and dramatic.

I have to disagree with premise, but agree with the outcome. I find foolish/silly players detract from the game play, memorable situations or not.

I suppose I should qualify it a bit more. I'm not suggesting recruiting a player who is disruptive and constantly hamming it up. Perhaps "silly" was the wrong word.

The bulk of my group consists of methodical players. They plan everything well, rarely make mistakes, and know the rules well. Most of them stay in character well (even to the point of making mistakes)...but they are more predictable.

I had GMed every week for 14 years. In that time, I've had two players (both at different times) who I'd qualify as foolish players. The 1st one wouldn't think about possible outcomes to his actions (which inevitably would lead to memorable results) and would sometimes do something so spontaneous, that even I couldn't have predicted it. The 2nd player was extremely smart and comical (not to the point of being distracting)...but he was an off-the-cuff player, which added an element of randomness to the game.

Our group of players sits officially at seven players and one DM. I DM'd the group fairly steadily for a long time, but recently one of the players took over DM duties and is doing a very good job.

But overall, this group of players have been together in one form or another since 1988 (ok a few drops and a few additions). And over that period of time, we had three DM's. So we have had a fairly consistent set of campaigns over that time frame.

Our current campaign we started in early 2003 and it is still going strong!

Some of my fondest campaign stories were brought about by dumb actions. So...recruit a foolish player. You won't be disappointed.

In my group we have Balzak the Half-Orc Barbarian. He charges into the heart of the army encampment while we're sitting, trying to make a plan of attack. When disscussing what equipment we need to sneak into the villain's citadel, he's walking over to the front door and just knocking.

He's played by a brilliant player who keeps the rest of us from overthinking.

Not that there haven't been a few times when the rest of us really wanted to develop a plan, that was subsequently tossed out the window. But those are few and far between and there's never less than fun to be had when my friend Rick plays Balzak.

My current gaming group, which plays D&D 3.25 (A mix of mostly 3.0 with a few house rules added), is nine players and the DM. We started at nine players, went down to seven when two players quit, then up to eight, then again up to nine. This is in the span of about 5 years or so.

In our Wed. night game for the past four years we have had six in our core group. Sometimes a friend or wife of someone will come bumping us to eight. On Saturdays we have five. I just joined the Sat. game and have heard that it has been as low as three people before. One member is gone for months at a time for work. When he is home that puts us at six. I also play Castle Whiterock with my two children when they unplug from their video games.

_________________"When creating your character,choose an ethical system that can justify nearly any fit of temper, greed, cowardice, or vindictiveness, for example, Chaotic Violent..."

They enjoy it in small doses. I on the other hand could play all day long. They tend to fizzle out after about two hours. We have really enjoyed The Inn of the Slumbering Drake. Playing darts, drinking ale, and feasting at Chauntessa's special table for victorious adventurers has bean great fun for them. Some times I think the only reason they go to Casle Whiterock is to get more money for the inn. They have also enjoyed becoming local heroes after rescuing the slaves trapped in the mine. They have had lots of fun interacting with Cookie and the regular patrons. This is a well thought out part of the material. You don't even have to go to the castle. There is just so much there that it is easy to have adventures right in town. I think that we will be happily playing this campaign for years to come.

_________________"When creating your character,choose an ethical system that can justify nearly any fit of temper, greed, cowardice, or vindictiveness, for example, Chaotic Violent..."

Sounds good. We will stop by and introduce our selves. If its around our True Dungeon run we might even be in costume. In past years I really didn't have the guts to dress up by myself. However with my kids tagging along it just seems like good fun. We are taking a couple of workshops to make foam swords and shields as well. I can't wait to try them out. I feel like a little kid again. This is going to be a great GENCON.

_________________"When creating your character,choose an ethical system that can justify nearly any fit of temper, greed, cowardice, or vindictiveness, for example, Chaotic Violent..."

We have had various sizes over the years. Started out (as far as D&D3E goes) 2 players and a DM. Then we got three players and a DM going. The next year we had five regular players and two sometimes players and a DM. Last year we shrank back down to four players, all showing up regularly, and a DM. At the moment we are starting a new campaign with only three players and a DM.Now, our C&C game is two players (two characters each) and a CK.

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